Parliamentary Government
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How It Operates
No elected person in Canada above the rank of mayor has a “term” of office. Members of Parliament or of a provincial legislature are normally elected for not more than five years, but there can be, and have been, Parliaments and legislatures that have lasted less than a year. The Prime Minister can ask for a fresh election at any time but, as already stated, there may be circumstances in which he or she would not get it. The Cabinet has no “term.” Every Cabinet lasts from the moment the Prime Minister is sworn in till he or she resigns or dies. For example, Sir John A. Macdonald was Prime Minister from 1878 until he died in 1891, right through the elections of 1882, 1887 and 1891, all of which he won. Sir Wilfrid Laurier was Prime Minister from 1896 to 1911, right through the elections of 1900, 1904 and 1908, all of which he won. He resigned after being defeated in the election of 1911. The same thing has happened in several provinces. An American President or state Governor, re-elected, has to be sworn in all over again. A Canadian Prime Minister or Premier does not.
If a Prime Minister dies or resigns, the Cabinet comes to an end. If this Prime Minister’s party still has a majority in the Commons or the legislature, then the Governor General or Lieutenant-Governor must find a new Prime Minister at once. A Prime Minister who resigns has no right to advise the Governor as to a successor unless asked; even then, the advice need not be followed. If he or she resigns because of defeat, the Governor must call on the Leader of the Opposition to form a government. If the Prime Minister dies, or resigns for personal reasons, then the Governor consults leading members of the majority party as to who will most likely be able to form a government that can command a majority in the House. The Governor then calls on the person he or she has decided has the best chance. This new Prime Minister will, of course, hold office only until the majority party has chosen a new leader in a national or provincial convention. This leader will then be called on to form a government.
The Cabinet consists of a varying number of Ministers. The national Cabinet ranges from 20 to 40 members, and provincial Cabinets from about 10 to over 30. Most of the Ministers have “portfolios” (that is, they are in charge of particular departments — Finance, Foreign Affairs, Environment, Health, etc.), and are responsible, answerable and accountable to the House of Commons or the legislature for their particular departments. There may also be Ministers of State, who normally assist Cabinet Ministers with a particular responsibility or section of their departments. At times there have also been ministers without portfolio, and Ministers of State responsible for managing policy-oriented bodies known as Ministries of State. In the 1990s, assisting ministers were sometimes called Secretaries of State, not be confused with historically important departmental ministers once known by the titles Secretary of State for Canada or Secretary of State for External Affairs.
The Ministers collectively are answerable to the House of Commons or the legislature for the policy and conduct of the Cabinet as a whole. If a Minister does not agree with a particular policy or action of the Government, he or she must either accept the policy or action and, if necessary, defend it, or resign from the Cabinet. This is known as “the collective responsibility of the Cabinet,” and is a fundamental principle of our form of government.
The Cabinet is responsible for most legislation. It has the sole power to prepare and introduce bills providing for the expenditure of public money or imposing taxes. These bills must be introduced first in the House of Commons; however, the House cannot initiate them, or increase either the tax or the expenditure without a royal recommendation in the form of a message from the Governor General. The Senate cannot increase either a tax or an expenditure. However, any Member of either House can move a motion to decrease a tax or an expenditure, and the House concerned can pass it, though this hardly ever happens.
